Phrases |
'Useful' phrases |
Idioms |
Tongue twisters |
Language-related proverbs
Idioms and euphemistic expressions used to indicate that someone is somewhat lacking in intelligence.
| Language | Idiom |
|---|---|
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 牛皮燈籠 點不明
(nghàuhpèih dānglùhng dím bātmìhng) - as unclear as a leather lantern |
| Croatian | Vrane su mu popile mozak - Crows have drunk his brain Fali mu daska u glavi - He lacks a plank in his head |
| Czech | Šplouchá mu na maják - It's splashing on his lighthouse |
| Danish | At have rotter på loftet - to have rats in the attic |
| Dutch | Hij/Zij heeft ze niet alle vijf op een rij - He/She doesn't have all five [senses] in a row Er zit een schroefje bij hem los - He has a loose screw; His screws are loose |
| English | a sandwich short of a picnic a few beers short of a six-pack one brick short of a load a few fish short of a hatstand not playing with a full deck [of cards] to have bats in the belfrey to have kangeroo loose in the top paddock as crazy as a sack full of ferrets out to lunch as nutty as a fruit cake as mad as a hatter the lift doesn't go to the top floor the lights are on, but nobody's home to have a screw loose not the sharpest knife in the drawer not hitting on all six cylinders |
| Finnish | Hänellä ei ole kaikki kotona - He doesn't have everything at home |
| French | avoir une araigneé au plafond
- to have a spider on the ceiling ne pas avoir toute sa tête - to not have all his head Il n'a pas inventé l'eau chaude / le fil à couper le beurre / la poudre - He didn't invent hot water / wire for cutting butter / powder Ce n'est pas une lumière - It's not a light Il est "brave" / "gentil" - He's brave / gentle - with a very ironic intonation on the brave/gentil - used mainly in Belgium. Le franc/euro ne tombe pas vite chez lui - The Franc/Euro doesn't fall very quickly for him Il comprend vite, mais il faut lui expliquer longtemps - He understands quickly, but you have to spend along time explaining things to him |
| German | Hast du 'nen Vogel?!
- Have you gotta bird [in your head]?! Tickst du noch richtig? Are you still ticking on time? Hast du noch alle Tassen im Schrank? Do you still have all cups in the cupboard? Hast Du 'nen Schuß? |
| Greek | Τοὔστριψε ἡ βίδα (Toústripse i vída) |
| Hebrew | he fell on his head
- (hu nafal barosh) הוא נפל בראש (hu khay beseret) הוא חי בסרט he lives in a movie - his whole life are like a movie he's missing a screw - (khaser lo boreg) חסר לו בורג |
| Hungarian | Nincs ki mind a négy kereke - he hasn't got all four wheels out |
| Indonesian | otak udang - shrimp brained |
| Irish (Gaelic) | Tá sé chomh mear le míol Márta - He's as lively as an animal in March |
| Italian | Avere le rotelle fuori posto to have one's wheels out of place = to be nutty, to be a loony Mancare una rotell to be lacking a wheel = to be nutty, to be a loony Non avere tutti i venerdì to be lacking some Fridays = to be nutty, to be a loony Essere svitato to be unscrewed = to be nutty, to be a loony, to have a screw loose Essersi bevuto il cervello to have drunk up one's own brain = to be crazy Essere di legno/ di coccio to be made of wood / of earthenware = to be unable to understand (also: stubborn, not willing to understand). Often in pronouncing this expression the speaker raps on a hard surface, to remark the idea of 'hardness' with the noise. Essere duro di comprendonio to have hard brains = to be slow in understanding |
| Latvian | Putniņs bēniņos - to have birds in the attic |
| Lithuanian | Jam stogas važiuoja to have birds in the attic --> |
| Polish | Brak mu/jej piątej klepki - he's/she's missing the fifth stave Ma nierówno pod sufitem - he's got a jerky surface under the ceiling |
| Portuguese | Cabeça d'alho chocho - rotten garlic head Tem um parafuso a menos - He's missing a screw Tem macaquinhos no sotão - (He) has little monkeys in the attic É poucochinho - He's little (opposite of much) |
| Punjabi | ਓਦ ਦਮਘ ਖ੍ਰਾਬ ਹੋਯ (oda damagh khrāb hoya) - his brain's not working |
| Russian | У него крыша поехала (U nego kryša poexala) - His roof has gone |
| Serbian | Фали му даска
у глави
(Fali mu daska u glavi) - He's missing a plank in his head Фали му шраф у глави (Fali mu šraf u glavi) - He's missing a screw in his head Ударен мокром чарапом (Udaren mokrom čarapom) - Hit with a wet sock Луд ко струя (Lud ko struja) - Crazy as electricity Скренуо с колосека (Skrenuo s koloseka) - He's gone off his rails |
| Slovenian | Eno kolesce mu manjka - He's missing a wheel Nima vseh kolesc v glavi - He doesn't have all wheels in his head |
| Spanish | Más loco que una cabra / un plumero - Crazier than a goat / feather duster Le falta un tornillo - He's missing a screw |
| Swedish | Att ha tomtar på loftet - To have brownies in the attic Flängd i roten - Flurry in the root Han har otur när han tänker - He is unlucky when he thinks Hear these phrases |
| Turkish | Kafadan kontak - The contacts in his brain are cut Keçileri kaçırmıs, - His goats fled Kafayı yemiş - He has eaten his own brain Tırlatmış - He purred |
| Ukrainian | Немає клепки
(Namaje klepky) - a screw is missing Не всі вдома (Ne vsi vdoma) - not everyone is at home |
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It's all Greek to me | It's raining cats and dogs | As easy as falling off a log | A sandwich short of a picnic | When pigs fly | Other idioms in many languags
Useful foreign phrases | Tongue twisters | Language-related proverbs
Copyright 1998- Simon Ager